


The ice melts when the sunshine comes

by supcl4ra (klari19)



Category: Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Genre: Fluff, Lamento Secret Santa 2015, M/M, Snow, leaks is so confused omg, playing with hair, shui is a gift from the gods, ultimate otp stuff u feel me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klari19/pseuds/supcl4ra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shui helps Leaks relax, making the magician realize some things about himself at the same time. The next day, everything Leaks can think of is to make Shui as happy as he can be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The ice melts when the sunshine comes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hitsugi_Zirkus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hitsugi_Zirkus/gifts).



> This is my secret santa gift for [clears-jellyfish-dress](http://clears-jellyfish-dress.tumblr.com/)!! You asked for "something fluffy and warm or with snow", and I chose ShuiLeaks for it. I had a looot of fun writing this, and I hope you like it! Happy hollidays~~ <3  
> Many thanks to [onsla](http://onlyslash.tumblr.com/) for beta'ing this for me, and to [Ro](http://sunfalldown.tumblr.com/) for helping me find the title!

Leaks came back to a slightly unexpected scenario when nearing his house. In the softening light of the evening, he could see light coming out of the small windows. He thought about undesirable intruders, but crossed out that option from his list of possibilities, because his residence was hidden far into the forest, it’s presence made invisible by spells which had been cast by Leaks himself. He stopped for a moment, thinking about exactly who could have entered his house without asking for permission. Then he realized…

 _“That Poet…”_ he thought.

He heaved an annoyed sigh, then resumed his walking. He still wasn’t used to Shui appearing suddenly and without warning like he did, and it was often more confusing than annoying, actually. He wondered: what did that talented, highly sociable, and beautiful –he definitely was, Leaks had to admit it to himself– cat find in Leaks that he enjoyed so much as to come back regularly to visit him?

Leaks had absolutely no clue.

In any case, he didn’t really want to know either. Therefore, he eased the subject away from his tired mind. He’d been working all day in the fields, practicing ancient spells that used a lot of his energy to be completed, so he was exhausted. All he wanted in that moment to rest his aching body, not deal with someone…

He reluctantly opened the door, expecting the Poet to jump on him the first second he’d stepped inside, but instead, he found himself free of the other’s presence –which was always intensified by his incessant chatter– and… he, somehow, felt sad.

The heavy hollowness in his chest felt awkward and painful. He felt his energy being drained, just like when he had been experimenting with spells that afternoon. He wanted– he just wanted all of those strange things in his chest to go away. He wanted things to go back to normal. As much as Shui’s behavior irritated him, why on earth had the cat changed his… routine… If he was inside the house, why hadn’t he… And, anyway, _where the hell was he?_

Feeling gloomier than before, Leaks stepped further into his house. He slowly looked around, inspecting the kitchen to his right, his small bed in the corner further back, the “working corner” in the back, to his left– ah, there he was.

Shui was seated on his working chair, leaning over a giant book laid out over Leaks’ desk. Quiet and calm, the other cat seemed to not have noticed Leaks coming in at all. Leaks, in spite of his conflicted thoughts, took the time to observe Shui, before he realized he was inside.

He watched how Shui’s elegant long fingers placed a lock of smooth reddish-orange hair back behind his ear. He watched how Shui’s brow furrowed and he pressed his lips tightly when he seemed to not understand something, and how, on the contrary, his expression relaxed and his eyes widened when he read something interesting. He watched how Shui’s bright green eyes jumped from one word to the other, hungry and eager to know what was coming next. He watched–

The Poet suddenly turned towards him. “Leaks! There you are! I didn’t notice when you came in.” He got up and walked toward Leaks. “How are you? How was your day? Are you tired?”

There it was. The never-ending questioning Shui always gave him whenever Leaks came back to find the cat calmly nested inside his place, as if it were his own.

Leaks cut him short. “Why do you ask questions if you’re not going to let me answer them?” He fell silent, expecting to teach him a lesson –if that was even possible.

The Poet tilted his head to the side, his gaze going up to the roof, and a finger laying on his chin. “I guess…” He trailed away, then continued. “I guess it’s because you never answer me.” He spoke, looking back into Leaks’ eyes, a small –and somehow sad– smile lifting the corners of his lips.

Leaks felt Shui’s words fall atop him like a bucket of ice cold water. Shui was right… now that he thought about it, he never actually answered him. But he did that because he felt it was unnecessary for Shui to know about him, about his daily life, about his physical and mental state. Anyway, what would he do with all that information?

“I wish I could help you when I see you tired –as you are today, I can see it in your eyes–, I wish I just… I wish I _knew_ how to help you, but I can’t since you never tell me anything about you.” Shui continued, finally dropping his gaze to his hands, which were fidgeting nervously. “I’m sorry for seeming like a total intruder in your life, but I want to help you… please… Leaks.”

Shui looked up when he pronounced the other cat’s name. His eyes, deep wells of green, were locked with Leaks’ honey orbs, not pressuring him into an answer, but rather– telling him that he was there for him, whenever he needed him.

Shui… _wanted to help Leaks._

Leaks couldn’t quite explain what he felt in that moment. He was completely taken aback by what the Poet had told him, and he didn’t really know what to say in reply. Sure he could answer him properly. But what would he say then? That he was tired? Shui already knew that. No, Shui wanted a different answer… Shui wanted to get know him: _what_ got him tired, _how_ he felt, _what_ he felt. But did Leaks have the answers to those questions? He doubted it himself. He never really payed attention to those things… well, because he didn’t have anyone he trusted enough to tell them to them.

And then it dawned on him.

His thoughts were a blur inside his head. _“I can’t… trust anyone in this world. But what about Shui? Is he someone to trust? And even if he’s “good” and I trust him, will he eventually stop caring about all of this and then leave me? And if I do tell him about myself, what will I tell him? Do I even know the answers to his questions myself?”_

Shui must have sensed he was living an internal conflict of some kind, because he took Leaks’ hands in his own, and lead him toward the small bed –which was the only piece of furniture in Leaks’ home that could sit more than one person. Leaks, incapable of resisting in the state he was in, let himself be guided. Shui sat down first, dragging his body until his back was pressed against the wall, and then he gestured Leaks to sit down beside him, a gentle smile on his face. Still completely dazed, Leaks moved his body to rest beside Shui’s, but before he could lean against the wall, Shui placed his delicate hands over Leaks’ shoulders and made him lower himself, until blond hair was resting atop green-clothed thighs. Leaks gave him a quizzical look.

“Rest.” The Poet whispered. His hand was laying onto Leaks’ forehead, and it lowered until it covered his eyes. Leaks closed them and breathed in slowly, positioning his legs more comfortably.

Because his eyes were now closed, he could only feel and hear what Shui was doing. And what he felt… _was incredibly soothing._

Shui’s deft fingers were running into his hair, softly stroking it while he gently massaged his scalp. Leaks felt… like he was in a cloud. The slow movements made him tingle a little, but it felt good. It felt… good… And for some reason, he didn’t hate it. He was actually very grateful for what Shui was doing, for trying to help him. And even though Leaks was an eternal mess of unanswered queries, _he stayed._ He stayed with him and persevered. Shui was indeed an incredible cat –and a beautiful one too, but Leaks couldn’t tell him that.

His thoughts began to get cloudy, and he was about to fall into a comfortable sleep when he heard Shui’s voice rise softly above his head.

“So… I was reading a book before you came in.” He stopped, probably waiting for some sort of reply. Leaks gave him a lazy grunt, too tired and sleepy to respond in any other way, and when Shui continued speaking, _he could hear the smile in his voice._ “It was a book about the Two Canes. And it was very interesting because it had drawings inside, drawings about the things it talked about.” He paused, his fingers leaving warm touches over Leaks’ scalp. “And there was something I read in it that was quite… I don’t know how to explain it, but it talked about something that used to fall from the sky when it got very cold outside. The book said that it was practically ice what fell from the clouds then! Pretty weird, uh?” Leaks grunted in approval once more. “When I read it, I thought it could be dangerous. For ice to fall from the sky, I mean. But then, when I saw the drawing, I fell short of breath. It was so beautiful, Leaks, you can’t imagine. I think it said it was a… A sno-snowflake?”

Shui’s soft and hesitant voice made warmth spread into Leaks’ chest, but it could also have been because he was so tired, or so he wanted to think…

“In any case, it looked… So soft and pure… Like the fur of a newborn white kitten… And it was…” He trailed off, as if he were carefully selecting his words. “It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

Leaks noticed how he’d put emphasis on the word “one”, but he was too exhausted to ask him what was _the_ most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

He fell asleep with Shui’s hands into his hair, and his soft voice in his ears.

* * *

Leaks woke up feeling better than he’d ever felt before. His head didn’t feel as heavy as it always did whenever he opened his eyes, and he wondered if that was because of what Shui had done the night before or something entirely different. When he got up from his bed and started walking forward, he didn’t feel the usual drag of his long hair behind him… When he looked back, he couldn’t even see it anymore.

Panic rose in his throat for a moment. Had Shui dared _cutting his hair off?_

No, that wasn’t it. It couldn’t be. Leaks looked behind him once more, but this time turning his gaze to the ground, and he saw… a braid. He gasped softly at the sight of the– beautiful? detestable thing? No, it was definitely wonderful, all the more because… because Shui had taken the time to make it for him. As warmth spread itself in his chest, Leaks closed his eyes and shook his head as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He resumed walking towards his kitchen, but stopped after a few steps. Even if the braid made the length of his hair slightly shorter, it was still too long and trailed on the ground behind him, so he looped it twice around his neck. He checked himself in the mirror above the small sink in one of the corners of his house, and decided it looked good like that.

Sitting at his kitchen table moments later, with a light breakfast placed in front of him, Leaks tried to remember what Shui had told him before he’d fallen asleep. He ate slowly while deep in his thoughts, and when he was finished, he motioned toward one of the many bookcases overflowing with heavy volumes. He checked a particular section, reading carefully the names of each of the ancient-looking books, until he found the one he was looking for. He stuffed the book into his bag, letting it fall atop tiny flasks and small pouches containing various liquids and minerals he always carried inside of it.

That day, for the first time in a long time, Leaks exited his house with a genuine smile on his lips.

* * *

The sky was already tinted black when Leaks realized how long he’d been practicing. He quickly gathered his things, content with how the spell he’d rehearsed had come out the last time, and took the path back to his house.

Same as the night before, when he got closer to his place, he could see a dim light leaking through the windows. The bag hanging from his shoulders suddenly felt extremely light, and Leaks was more confused than ever at what was squirming inside his chest. Nonetheless, he continued walking toward his house. He opened the door and stepped inside, but before he could even close it, there was already a pair of arms locked around his neck, and long, soft orange-red hair clouding his vision.

“Welcome back.” He heard Shui murmur, his face buried into Leaks’ light brown cloak.

Leaks froze momentarily. What Shui had just said… It made him feel warm, it made him feel really at home and– it made him feel _loved._

He blinked many times, swallowed, though his mouth was completely dry, and tried to fill his lungs with air, but his breath caught in his throat. How was he to respond to that? Was there an accurate way to answer such a thing? How… how did those things work? Should he—

He heard a soft laugh rise up from somewhere underneath, and moved his eyes downward to see Shui looking at him with a big grin spreading those ever smooth-looking lips.

“Wh-at…” Leaks grumbled, the mono-syllable somehow tripping over itself on his tongue. Things were becoming a little too much for him to be able to handle them correctly.

“Nothing, you just looked very cute right now, confused and all.” Shui responded, smiling so hard that his eyes became just the tiniest of slits.

“I wasn’t confused! Don’t overthink it!” He shouted back, feeling a weird heat rise up to his ears.

“Mm… Alright…” Shui spoke softly, pulling away from Leaks. His hand, though, stayed on the magician’s chest, and moved to take the long braid between his fingers.

“Oh yeah…” Leaks mumbled, looking away. “Thanks… for that. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” The Poet murmured back.

An awkward yet comfortable silence fell atop them for a few moments, until Leaks remembered what it was that he’d been practicing for the entire day.

“Hey…” He hesitated, pursed his lips, then opened them again and continued. “I’ve got something to show you. Come with me outside.”

He heard Shui make a confused sound behind him, but he could hear him follow suit when he exited through the small house’s door. They walked a few minutes south of the house, where Leaks knew there was a small meadow, perfect for the spell he was about to perform, and closer than his usual place for practicing. Shui walked beside him, looking completely stunned by the sudden turn of events, but he kept advancing without questioning. As for himself, Leaks wanted to make the confusion last as long as he could, therefore he didn’t speak a word either.

In the small prairie, as they looked up, they could see the beautiful night sky, lit up by an endless number of stars. Leaks looked at Shui, standing close beside him, looking up at the sky as well, and Leaks felt as if he could see entire constellations reflected in the Poet’s eyes. He fell short of breath for a second, but managed to let out his voice in a low murmur after a while.

“Close your eyes, but keep your head directed to the sky.”

Shui looked at him, an eyebrow raised in confusion – _“How adorable”_ , Leaks thought–, but he nodded and obeyed. Leaks closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and begun chanting the spell.

After a few seconds, he couldn’t sense the spell being completed yet, and he feared that he might have messed up somewhere. But moments later, he felt the confirmation of it.

“Shui, open your eyes…” He whispered, and as soon as he’d finished his sentence, he opened his own.

The sky was now covered in dark clouds… from which fell small white particles. Some of them turned and danced over and around, moved by the soft currents of the night wind. They then landed on the grass, on the leaves, on their hair and on their clothes. At first, they melted at the contact, but soon, they started accumulating on any surface that they landed on, creating a thin white mantle that embraced everything.

Beside Leaks, Shui stood petrified, and Leaks was afraid that he might have actually frozen, although he didn’t think that the cold wind that was starting to rise would have that big of an effect on someone. His worries were kicked to the back of his head momentarily, though, as he saw Shui lift up his arms, his palms turned toward the sky to try and catch some of the falling particles.

“Snow…flakes…” He murmured, his voice barely audible, even in the silence that nature offered them. “Leaks…” He whispered, turning toward the cat he’d called by name.

Anxiety flooded his brain once more as we noticed the tears streaming down Shui’s white cheeks. His heartbeat pounded into his ears, and Leaks realized that his extensive magical knowledge couldn’t help him deal with a crying cat. His eyes flew from one side to the other, trying to think about something to say, something to do– and he found himself lifting his hands to cup Shui’s cheeks, his thumbs wiping the wet streams that were staining that beautiful and smooth and _perfect_ skin. Shui chuckled, the sound made awkward by a sob stuck halfway in his throat.

“This is wonderful.” Shui murmured through a crooked yet absolutely beautiful smile. “Thank you, Leaks.” He finished, and pressed his own hands over Leaks’.

Relief fell over the magician, and he breathed out slowly. He had succeeded his spell, but most importantly, he’d made Shui feel happy –way too happy, apparently– and that was what made him the most content in that moment.

Shui grasped Leaks’ hands firmly into his own, and pulled them away from his face to let them lay, with their fingers now intertwined, between their bodies. He stepped closer to Leaks, and leaned forward, pressing a soft, chaste kiss, a kiss that felt like the touch of a butterfly, onto Leaks’ lips.

The magician was thrown over any border of understanding that had ever been built in his mind. Stars danced before his eyes, and he felt a soft tingle run through his entire nervous system. If there would have been a demon attacking them in that moment, he wouldn’t have cared in the least, because Shui was pressed just right against him, his lips warm and smooth and _perfect_ against his own. He was… as happy as he could ever be, and he wanted to remember this moment forever.

When Shui pulled back, Leaks subconsciously leaned forward, wanting to make the contact last longer. Shui chuckled at that, his eyes closed tight as his smile pushed his cheeks upwards.

“Let’s go back home.” Shui murmured, opening his eyes and locking his gaze with Leaks’, a gentle smile now spreading his lips.

Leaks sucked in a heavy breath, the choice of words making his head spin again. His voice came out difficultly, but the light squeeze he gave to Shui’s hands demonstrated his inner confidence in that moment.

“Yeah, let’s go home.”

**Author's Note:**

> shuileaks will be the death of me  
> btw, the title basically refers to leaks' heart softening whenever he's with shui (you can thank ro -sunfalldown | tumblr- for the beautiful metaphor <3)  
> hit me up on [tumblr](http://tetsuos.co.vu)


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